


Supergirl Season 3 (The Queer Version)

by batsy22



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Project Cadmus, Season 3 rewrite, canon compliant until post-season 2, no forced heterosexuality
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-10
Updated: 2017-10-10
Packaged: 2019-01-10 13:54:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12300498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/batsy22/pseuds/batsy22
Summary: In the wake of the destruction caused by the Daxamite invasion, CADMUS has risen again, stronger than ever before. To survive, Kara Zor-El and the rest of her chosen family will have to fight for their very survival. Meanwhile, are Kara and Lena doomed to live out the tragedies of their families or is there something...deeper between them?All the while, Lex Luthor plots from the shadows, playing a far deeper game than anyone realizes.Or my own version of season 3 (written before the premiere) where there is no forced heterosexuality, Kara's story is not tied to her male love interest, Lena Luthor is not evil and there are multiple, affirming relationships.





	Supergirl Season 3 (The Queer Version)

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all! 
> 
> Welcome to the story that I've spent far too much time on. This is written with no disrespect towards the writers of the show who have created a world I love deeply. However, I haven't been particularly pleased with the direction they have gone in, so I decided to try my hand at writing what I would like to see in Season 3. 
> 
> I would also like to make clear that this was written before the premiere so it will almost definitely be completely different from the canon season 3.

Your name is Kara Zor-El.

You are the last of your once great people.  The last who can remember the great spires of Argo City, the glowing peaks of the Xoln Mountains and Rao’s red light.

You are a survivor.

There is one other,  _Kal-El._ But no matter how much you love him, and no matter how much he tries, his home is Earth, not Krypton. You see this in his flawed accent when attempting to speak your people’s language, his unfamiliarity with your customs and in the crest that he wears without knowing what it truly means. To him, Krypton is a mere story, an explanation for his great powers that he uses to protect humanity.

For you, Krypton is your home. Your home that you will never see again.

You don’t blame him of course, how could you? But there are times, when you look at humanity’s greatest champion and you can’t help but feel a twinge of sadness in the deepest recesses of your heart. 

You love the human race. They are a primitive people, barely out of their caves. They are easily terrified and prone to acts of incredible violence. But there is so much potential for them, and you can see what your family sent you and Kal to them.

You love your Earth family as well, Alex, Eliza, Jerimiah, James, Winn,  _Lena._ They are your anchors, keeping you grounded when it would be so easy to let the weight of your dead world drag you down into oblivion.

But they are humans and humans are not granted longevity under a yellow sun like you are. You know in the darkest recesses of your mind that one day, they will all leave you and there is nothing you can do to stop it.

And one day, billions of years into the future, Earth’s sun will die, and you will die with it. When that happens, all the memories of your home will be gone, and Krypton will truly be dead. An entire culture, trillions of people who once spread across the stars, will be nothing but rubble in space.  

Your name is Kara Zor-El and you are forever cursed to be alone.

* * *

It had been four long months since the invasion. It would be so, so easy for Lena to drown in her own guilt, for allowing her desperate need for motherly approval to put the entire human race in jeopardy. So many had died because of her idiocy, and her best friend had been forced to give up the man she loved. All because of her. 

It had killed Lena to see her bubbly best friend, usually the literal embodiment of sunshine, become so sad and broken. They had needed each other so much during the past four months, spending many nights at Kara's apartment sobbing into each other's arms. 

It was why Lena was not at all surprised to not see her best friend in the crowd of reporters in front of L-Corp.

"Everyone, thank you very much for coming," she said into the microphone, "today marks the four month anniversary of a tragedy that claimed far too many lives. Today, we honor one of the heroes of that day, a woman who once again fought bravely to save people. Supergirl's courage should bring us all..." 

"Why is L-Corp honoring the person who brought those aliens to us?" she heard someone yell from the crowd. 

"There were many people responsible for the tragedy that occurred," she said without showing any emotion on her face, "I assure you that Supergirl was not one of those people." 

There were murmurs amongst the crowd that Lena chose to ignore. "Now, if you'll all settle down, I believe it's time to unveil L-Corp's small tribute to National City's hero." 

As soon as the cloak was pulled off the statue, the crowd gasped. Lena silently cursed under her breath. 

There stood a metal statue of Supergirl, standing proud with her hands on her hips. In the center of the statue though, on top of that famous "S" was written one word in bright red. 

**_Murderer_ **

* * *

  _“The controversial repeal of the Alien Amnesty Act is scheduled for a vote on the Senate floor Friday morning.  It remains unclear if proponents can overcome President Marsdin’s veto but if they do, it will no doubt serve as a major blow to an already failing presidency."_

“Is something wrong, Kara?” said Lena, her brow furrowed in concern, “you seem really distracted today.”

“I’m fine it’s just…work,” replied Kara as she poked her pasta with her fork

It was unfair,  _completely_ unfair to continue lying to Lena like this. But it wasn’t until after the invasion, when Kara realized how badly she needed this. To have someone in her life where she could just be Kara Danvers, a bubbly, amateur journalist. When she didn’t have to remember all her failures, when she didn’t have to show how broken she really was. It was selfish to continue lying to Lena in this way but yet…

_“She’ll hate you for it.”_

Lena seemed unconvinced but luckily seemed to drop the issue. "I'd imagine Cat Grant being back isn't making things easier on that front." 

"Ugh, she sent out a company-wide email yesterday because one of the interns put too much milk in her latte. I love Ms. Grant, and she's kind of like a mentor for me but  _god_ sometimes she can be really...  _annoying_." 

" _Annoying_  is a pretty mild word to describe Cat Grant's management style," chuckled Lena. 

"Well enough about Cat Grant. I feel like I've barely seen you these past few days," pouted Kara, "that was, um, nice what you did for Supergirl." 

"It would have been nice," seethed Lena, "had some asshole bigot not decided to ruin it." 

Kara was silent for a moment. "I don't know though... maybe they were right? Maybe the entire invasion was Supergirl's fault." 

Lena gave her best friend a shocked look. "Kara, you're the most bleeding heart alien activist I've ever met. You can't be serious." 

"Well, I've just been thinking recently," said Kara who couldn't bear to look at Lena's eyes, "maybe all those people died because Supergirl was here in the first place. I know she tried to help but-but she failed and lots of innocent people died because of it." 

"Kara, I don't know what this is about, but the only thing that would have changed had Supergirl not been here is that a lot more people would have died," said Lena forcefully. 

"I want to believe that it's just..." 

_"Violence erupted earlier today at a rally in support of Alien Amnesty with at least five killed and several more in the hospital for injuries. The demonstration was peaceful until met with a group of counter-protestors. The terrorist group CADMUS is suspected of possibly inciting the incident. For more commentary we turn to Maxwell Lord who has been a vocal opponent of the President's initiative. Mr. Lord, do you feel at all responsible for the violence?"_

_"Of course I don't, Jim. And let me just say this. How many times has the mainstream news reported on innocent humans killed by aliens? Never. Possibly because you all try to make us feel guilty for not welcoming monsters onto our planet..."_

Kara desperately tried to stop what was coming but it was too late. She felt panic well up inside her, her whole body shaking as if she had been injected with liquid kryptonite. She was bombarded with the roar of the city, thousands of voices at once hitting her like missile. Lena was saying something to her but it was lost in the cacophony of other voices. 

Right now she wasn't Supergirl. She was a scared 13 year-old girl who lost all her family, her friends and her entire life in a moment. A girl who would never truly fit in on this alien world, doomed to be the last of her people. A girl who would fail her adopted world and earn their hatred in return. 

The last thing Kara would remember would be warm arms encircling her and a soothing voice in her ear. 

* * *

  _"And so Nightwing defeated the evil Daxamite Queen and saved all of Kandor once again."_

_Kara squealed in delight from under the covers. "Nightwing is just like you, Aunt Astra!"_

_Astra smiled as she ran her hand through her niece's blond curls. "I appreciate the sentiment, little one but I'm not quite as much of a hero as Nightwing. Things are a little more complicated outside of fairy tales."_

_The little girl paid her response no mind. "When I grow up, I wanna be a hero just like you and Nightwing!"_

_"I'm sure you will be little one," she said as she continued to brush her niece's hair, "you'll be the greatest hero in the history of Krypton."_

* * *

She was there when Metropolis happened. When a battle between two aliens flattened half a city in less than 30 minutes. She still remembered vividly, in her darkest nightmares, being trapped, powerless, under rubble, listening to the screams of the dying as entire skyscrapers crumbled in seconds. 

But most of all, Lillian Luthor remembered looking upon the ruins of Metropolis, and seeing  _him_ for the first time. 

The idiotic masses called the victorious alien  _"Superman"_ and worshipped him like a god. But she knew the truth: that he and the rest of his kind were all parasites, putting all of humanity in danger just so they could stoke their own egos. Time had proven her right, as threats to the world grew more numerous as more alien vermin crawled out from the shadows. 

She had been monitoring the alien menace for years. But Metropolis proved how unprepared they really were. If humanity as a species was going to survive, it needed a way to fight back. So began CADMUS's current mission: the protection of the human race itself. 

There had been losses along the way. They had taken her beloved son from her and had tried to turn her own daughter against her. But Lillian remained steadfast in her convictions and her cause. After all, she was a Luthor. 

And now, after all these years, CADMUS was  _winning._

Her organization was far bigger and more powerful than anyone imagined. It was no longer the home of a few  _"extremists"_ like the traitors in the DEO were fond of calling them. Members ranged from police chiefs, to major CEO's, to politicians. They were an army in the shadows, and Lillian was its general. 

As she walked into the boardroom of CADMUS's current headquarters, she could almost feel the fear amongst her subordinates. It was something she had worked particularly hard to cultivate. So long as they feared her more than the enemy, they would be loyal.  

Sitting at the table were four men. On one end was Roland Daggett, a businessman that had bee a longtime alliy of the Luthors and of CADMUS. On the other end sat Alex Trent, a particularly zealous police chief in the NCPD and Bruno Mannheim, a prominent crime boss from Metropolis. At the end of the table there was of course her right hand, Hank Henshaw. 

"Well gentlemen, in two days, we'll have the chance to cripple one of our greatest enemies. I don't need to remind you all that failure is not an option now." 

"Marsdin's been out in public constantly," said Henshaw, "we have the perfect opportunity to take her out before she can do anything else." 

“We won’t be targeting Marsdin.”

“Ma’am?”

“If we kill her she becomes a martyr for her cause,” she explained, “ what we need to do is  _break_ her. Show the world what a fraud she is and they’ll all come flocking to us.”

“With all due respect, we’ve been looking for dirt on Marsdin for years,” said Trent, “ she’s completely clean.”

Lillian smiled. “Our ally assured me that wasn’t true. Our dear president is hiding one particularly  _interesting_  secret.”

Lillian stood up to look at the confused faces of her board members. “ We’re going to expose Marsdin’s darkest secret. And our friend Supergirl is going to help us.”

* * *

Alex was going to kill Kara. Even if the alien monster she was fighting killed her right now, she doubted even death itself could stop her from giving her sister an earful.

There was a reason they sent Supergirl to deal with the big monsters, she thought as she rolled out of the way another punch from the gravel looking thing. She wasn’t quite sure of its species, just that it was big, pissed off, and strong.

But luckily, it didn’t seem to be that smart either. It thus didn’t notice the DEO snipers getting into vantage positions surrounding it. The monster, following in the footsteps of almost every alien villain in this city, chose some abandoned construction site to strike. It was particularly lucky for them now that Alex thought about it. 

Somehow, she had ended up with the job of distracting the big alien monster long enough for everyone to get into position. The primary problem was that she was now on the ground, and the monster was above her, ready to smash her into paste. Alex sighed. She supposed it was going to be that kind of day. 

" _Hey big monster thing!"_

The monster turned around to find the source of the voice. As soon as it did, it was hit from all sides by high-strength electric harpoons. It screamed in pain for a few moments before collapsing. 

Behind its now unconscious body was Maggie who quickly moved into her girlfriend's arms. Without a word, their lips pressed together in a kiss that was perhaps a bit too intimate for a work setting.

"That was incredibly reckless," she chastised.

"Hey, I wasn't about to let my girlfriend get ground into paste  _right_ after I moved in with her," Maggie smiled," and besides, I can't let you do  _all_ the badass stuff in this relationship." 

It didn't take long for the DEO cleanup team to arrive to move... whatever that was into a secure facility. Alex and Maggie stood off to the side, hand and hand, quietly enjoying each other's presence. 

During the invasion, Alex had asked her girlfriend, a woman whom she loved so deeply and passionately, to marry her. It was a split second decision, and one they had both mutually agreed would be too soon. That didn't stop them from desperately wanting to be around each other as much as possible. 

Still though, the city had been chaos since the invasion, with alien attacks, CADMUS, and just regular far-right mobs. Despite living together, it felt like the only time Alex saw her beloved girlfriend was during work. 

"So, uh, Kara didn't show huh?" 

Alex sighed. "Yeah she at least always shows up for DEO business. I guess she wasn't paying attention to her phone." 

"For the last four months," she quietly added under her breath. 

Maggie gave her a sympathetic smile as she nuzzled Alex's shoulder. "You and Little Danvers have an insanely close bond. That's not going to change because she needs some space right now." 

"I know but she's suffering  _now,_ Mags," said Alex, " I just want to be there for her." 

"I know and I love that side of you. The part that wants to protect everyone she loves. And I'm sure that if you're patient, your sister will come to you when she's ready." 

Alex wasn't sure if she believed that anymore. 

* * *

Lena was no stranger to panic attacks. At one point in her life, they had become part of her daily routine. And going to a high-pressure boarding school meant that she was no stranger to seeing what panic attacks looked like on other people.

But Kara... if there was one thing Lena was sure of was that her beautiful best friend did not deserve panic attacks. It seemed profoundly unfair that such a wonderful creature was forced by her own body to suffer.  

As soon as Lena saw the signs of a panic attack, she rushed over to help ground Kara. She had quickly thrown a bundle of cash on the table as she guided her best friend out of the restaurant. She headed towards her office, the closest spot that was much more private and quiet. 

It was a bad one for sure. Kara had been delirious, panicking as she spoke a rather peculiar language Lena did not recognize. Once they got to her office, it took quite a long time before Lena managed to calm her best friend down. But thankfully she eventually did, and now Kara was sleeping on her couch. 

She had gotten Jess to clear her entire afternoon so that she could be there to take care of Kara. She had been...quite angry at her boss. 

_"The Board is really not going to like this. You can't afford to keep angering them."_

Lena knew her secretary was right but this was Kara. And Kara was worth any personal consequences she might face from the Board. 

It was amazing how Kara had managed to just burst into her life like she did. She had gone in the span of a few months from a (very attractive) acquaintance, to her only friend in National City, to a woman that she couldn't imagine life without. 

She wasn't an idiot. She knew that her feelings for Kara were much more than platonic. There was a time when she hoped that Kara and her could be... _something._ But then she had a boyfriend, a man Lena couldn't help but feel unfairly resentful of. In her fantasies, she would replace him with herself, imagining that she was the one that got to run her hand through those beautiful blond locks and kiss that wonderful smile. 

But now he was gone, because of her. So whatever feelings Lena had about her best friend, she had to be selfless and put them aside. 

Kara's phone started vibrating for the fifth time in five minuts prompting Lena to answer it. 

_"Look Kara, I know things are hard for you right now but we needed you today and.."_

"Agent Danvers, this is Lena Luthor. Kara is currently asleep in my office." 

Lena could practically hear the judgement in the silence that followed. 

_"Um, hi?"_

"Hi." 

_"So uh, get Kara to call me when she wakes up."_

"Will do." 

 Lena didn't even get a chance to respond before she heard Agent Danvers hang up the phone. 

Underneath her, Kara began to stir. 

"Your sister just called. I told her you were with me." 

Kara stared at her with confusion. "Lena?" 

"You're in my office. You had a panic attack so I brought you here." 

Kara shot up immediately. "Oh, I'm-I'm so sorry, Lena. I didn't mean to bother you," she said she quickly started moving towards the exit. 

Lena caught her by the hand before she could leave. "Kara... do you usually have attacks that bad?" 

Kara sighed. "They stopped for a while but they've gotten bad after...after you know." 

"Well if there's anything I can do to help." 

"Thanks, Lena."

There was something else Kara said but Lena could not hear her. Rather, she couldn't help but be focused on how close she was to her best friend and how Kara seemed to inch even closer to her. They were mere inches apart now, just a slight movement would bring their lips together. 

The moment seemed to go on forever. Lena wanted so badly to just lean forward and....

"Sorry, I-uh really need to go," said Kara as she practically bolted out the door while Lena could only stare. 

* * *

" _Kara I know things are hard for you but we needed you and..."_

"I told you, Alex. I was asleep." 

Alex sighed.  _"Kara, I can't help you if you don't talk to me."_

"I'm fine." 

_"We both know that's not true."_

"Alex, I really need to go," said Kara as she quickly hung up the phone. In her rush, she collided with a figure in front of her. 

She looked down to see a confused looking James staring back up at her. 

" _James_! I am so so sorry." 

James waved her off as he stood back up. "Kara, I was looking for you actually." 

Kara could hear the fatigue in James's voice as he spoke. She also couldn't help but notice the bruises all over his body. 

"Are you okay, James?" 

"Yeah, yeah... I just- Marcus had a thing last night that went late so I'm tired." 

It was a lie and they both knew it. 

"I wanted to warn you though," he whispered, " Cat's a bit..." 

" _Kiera!_ My office now." 

"Yeah... meant to warn you about that." 

"I better not keep her waiting then." 

"Hey James, try to get at least 6 hours of sleep tonight," she called behind her as she began her walk of shame. 

"I will if you do." 

Kara smiled. It was sometimes easy to fall back into their old routine. But those days felt so long ago, and now whenever she interacted with James she couldn't help but feel like it was the tail end of their friendship.

It wasn't a feeling she liked. 

When she entered her boss's office, Cat Grant immediately shut the door. 

Kara's eyes widened. Even when Cat had confronted her about being Supergirl, the door had remained open. 

"Is there anything I can do for you, Ms Grant?" 

"Well, Kiera, I would much rather not have to spend my mornings explaining to a balding old white man who I hired for some reason why my protege is never at the job she works at." 

Kara averted her gaze to the floor. " I"m sorry- I've just had a lot of... _things_ recently." 

Cat sighed. "I know the city's falling apart and you have a responsibility to it," she said, "but you can't throw your life away." 

Cat walked in front of her desk so she was directly in front of Kara. "Kara," she said as Kara flinched at the sound of her own name, "you're a wonderful, brilliant journalist. Don't waste this opportunity." 

"Thank you, Ms. Grant." 

"Well now that you've received my valuable advice for free, go scurry along and write something." 

For the rest of the afternoon, Kara desperately tried to keep her mentor's words with her. But she couldn't get her hands to stop shaking long enough to even type.

So it was only a few hours before Kara found herself flying from the ally behind Catco, away from the life she could no longer bare. 

* * *

"So I'm just saying. The transporter in Star Trek literally vaporizes you right? Then it like puts you back together or something. So don't you technically die?" 

J'onn grunted. 

"Seriously though. Does this mean the original Kirk and Picard are long dead and have just been copied a bunch of times? Who can say whether the person who came out of the transporter is the same person that got beamed there in the first place?" 

J'onn grunted again. Winn sighed. Being a secret agent was fun at first, but now it was... a lot more real. 

In about the amount of time it took him to blink, Kara had sped into the room, sending papers flying in every direction. 

"Oh uh, hey Kara. I thought you weren't scheduled for a shift until..." 

"I need you to give me something." 

"Oh, there's a bank robbery on first and 25th but I wasn't gonna send anyone because the NCPD pretty much has it under control..." 

"I'm on it." 

Before Kara could speed out of the room again, J'onn stepped in front of her.

"Kara, I'd recommend..." 

"J'onn," Kara sighed, " I really need this." 

J'onn said nothing as he stepped aside

* * *

Kara lost track of time. It was an endless blur of flying and bullets bouncing off her skin and her increasingly bloodied fist.

After what must have been hours, she hovered above the darkened city that had suffered so much because of her. Until she heard someone calling for her. 

_"Supergirl... bring me Supergirl."_

She zoomed as fast as she could, but did not see some alien overlord challenging her. Rather it was a middle aged woman standing at the edge of a building as police cars flashed their lights on the street below. 

She looked up at Kara, teary eyes blazing with anger. "Well-well, I didn't think you concerned yourself with the little people, almighty Supergirl," she said through tears. 

"I'm always here to help," Kara said as gently as she could, "tell me what's wrong and I can help you." 

"You didn't help  _him,_ " the woman spat as she shoved a picture into Kara's chest. Kara looked at it to see a smiling young boy staring back at her. 

"My son died four months ago because of what _you_ brought to us," she said through sobs, " I can't live my life without him." 

Kara felt numb inside. 

" You know I was planning on just overdosing in my apartment, but I needed you to see first. My boy is dead, and I blame you." 

And with that the woman stepped off the edge tumbling towards the ground. Kara caught her with ease, though the woman struggled desperately in her arms. 

By the time she reached the ground and gave the now incoherent woman to the paramedics on the ground.  

She took off without a word. 

What she didn't notice was the tiny little nanite device on her neck and a smirking suicidal woman in an ambulance. 

* * *

Lena Luthor was used to late nights at the office that this point. What she wasn't used to was getting absolutely no work done because she couldn't stop thinking about how the woman whom she was almost certainly in love with had almost kissed her. 

Years ago, she would have talked about something like this to Lex. She would always spill her guts to him, he'd smirk, put his arm around his shoulder, and somehow know the exact thing to make her feel better. 

But now, Lex was in jail and Lena had no one. 

Almost as if summoned, Kara Danvers herself chose to walk into her office. 

"Kara?" 

"Sorry- I saw your light was on so...." 

Lena couldn't help but notice Kara's red puffy eyes, as if she had been crying. " Is everything alright?" 

On cue, tears began to silently roll down her best friend's face. Lena wasted no time in getting up to wrap her in her embrace. 

"Do you want to talk about it?"

" _No,"_ said Kara, " I just- really can't deal with any more emotional conversations today." 

"Okay, then let's talk about something else." 

Kara sniffled. "Why don't- why don't you just tell me what you're working on?" 

"It's a summit L-Corp is putting on," explained Lena, " it's actually rather exciting if you can keep a secret." 

Kara smiled that smile Lena loved so much. "My lips are sealed." 

" We're- well  _I,_ more specifically, will be meeting with Bruce Wayne in a few weeks." 

 _"Bruce Wayne?!?",_ said Kara with her eyes wide with excitement, "that's like... wow, Lena." 

"It's been a very recent thing. He sent a message to my personal account saying he wanted to meet in private as soon as possible. Even offered to do some PR for L-Corp if I agreed to talk." 

"That's...odd." 

Lena smiled. "Bruce and I have... some history together. He's been out of the public eye for a while because of a family tragedy recently." 

The next few moments would be burned into Lena's mind for the rest of her life. 

There was a bang, a loud one. And then Kara- adorable,  _normal_ Kara had sped at inhuman speed in front of her. There was a  _clink_ and she looked down to see a crushed piece of metal on the floor. 

She only realized later that it was a bullet. 

Then there was a scream that would haunt Lena's nightmares for years. The scream coming from her best friend's mouth as she fell to the ground in agony. She writhed around at speeds that Lena couldn't even comprehend. 

There were men in the room, some of whom she recognized as her mother's goons. She rushed over to Kara to protect her only to find herself in a chokehold. 

"Your mother says to keep you alive. For  _now,_ at least." 

Lena fell to the floor gasping desperately for air. When she looked up, Kara was gone. 

There were two things that went through Lena's mind in that moment. 

The first was  _Kara is Supergirl_

The second was  _She's in danger from Mother._

* * *

Kara woke up to harsh, artificial red light in her face. Her entire body felt weak and she found that she couldn't move her arms more then a few inches. There were cold shackles on her wrists and ankles, made of a material she couldn't recognize. 

She felt a sudden sharp pain in her abdomen and saw a crushed metal bullet fall to the ground. Lillian Luthor stood in front of her with a handgun in one hand and some kind of remote in another. 

"I see the red solar light hasn't nullified your powers completely. How disappointing." 

"What ever it is you're trying to do, Lillian," Kara seethed through the pain, "you won't get away with it." 

Lillian laughed, a harsh, shrill sound. "But what if all I want is to hurt you _Supergirl_?" 

Kara felt her entire body explode with pain she had never experienced before. She screamed as she desperately struggled against the shackles that refused to give away. 

"I must admit I'm disappointed I can't kill you quite yet, but I suppose torture will be fun enough." 

For hours, the only sound in the room were the screams of the Last Daughter of Krypton and the laughter of her tormentor. 

* * *

There were only three people Lena had truly loved in her life. One of them was in prison serving multiple life sentences. Another was dead by her own hand. 

Lena would be damned if she lost the last one. 

Lena of course knew about the DEO. She was a  _Luthor_ after all. And from there it wasn't that much of a leap to assume that Supergirl-  _Kara_ worked with them. 

The DEO building was a nondescript building meant to look like a normal office building. But Lena was smart enough to know better. 

Or at least she usually was smart enough to know better when her feelings stopped her from seeing what was directly in front of her eyes. 

"Can I help you, Ma'am?" said the guard at the front of the building. 

"Yes I need to speak to Agent Danvers." 

"I'm sorry, I don't believe we have a Ms. Danvers that works here. We do have a Ms. Dawson if that's who you're...." 

"Supergirl is in danger. If you don't let me talk to Agent Danvers, Supergirl is going to be killed by my mother," said Lena with her voice slightly shaking. 

The guard (?) was obviously trained to hide facial micro-expressions but Lena definitely saw a glimpse of worry on his face. 

He cleared his throat. "I'm afraid I don't know quite what you're talking about but I can check with my manager." 

Lena rolled her eyes dramatically. "Fine you go do that." 

* * *

"You know Alex, both of us have been teleported before. That means our molecules were literally destroyed and put back together. So are we like...technically dead? I really need to figure this out." 

"Don't you have work to do?" 

"I am working," said Winn, "I can work and suffer from existential dread at the same time." 

"Alex, Winn. I need you both immediately," Alex heard J'onn call from behind her. 

She wasn't surprised to see the Martian behind her. But she was surprised to see a (quite frazzled looking) Lena Luthor next to him. 

"Luthor? What are you doing with..." 

"Your sister is in danger. My mother has her." 

Alex felt panic completely consume her body. She tried to push it down though with very little success. 

"Kara? She's..." 

"Agent Danvers, I know." 

"Who took her?" 

"Hank Henshaw," said J'onn through gritted teeth. 

"If they have the ability to hold Kara, they'd most likely be in an old DEO or SHADE compound," said Alex. 

" I can check the street cameras around those locations. See if there's any unusual activity." 

"That would take far too long," interrupted Lena, " Kara needs us  _now._ I can get in contact with my mother, let her bring me in, and you can track my location." 

J'onn shook his head. "I won't involve a civilian in this. You've done enough Ms. Luthor." 

"But if she can get in contact with Lillian that would drastically..." 

"This isn't up for discussion, Agent Danvers. Agent Schott, get to work," said J'onn as he left the room. 

Alex stormed out next to him. "J'onn, what the hell are you thinking?" 

"Ms. Luthor is not only a civilian but her feelings around both Kara and her mother are...confused. She's incredibly unstable right now. Putting her in a situation with with both of them is very likely to end disastrously."  

"But we don't have any other options! This is Kara." 

"I care about Kara immensely. But rushing in with a half-formed plan isn't going to end well for her. Try and see if you can help Winn. I'll try to find Kara's mind, but I'll need to focus for that." 

And with that Alex fumed all the way back to the server room. 

* * *

Lena was furious. Furious that everyone in her life seemed to lie to her. Furious that she was always a  _Luthor._ Furious that someone she loved was in danger and no one would let her help. 

The man who had helped her at the gala- _Winn,_ had left a few minute sago. So now, she had nothing to do but sit in a room by herself. 

"Hey, you feel like grabbing a drink?" said Alex as she walked back into the room. 

"I don't think we should really..." 

"I insist," said Alex as she gave Lena a look that seemed to imply she wasn't interested in grabbing a drink at all. 

"In that case, of course," said Lena with her trademark forced polite smile. 

They were silent the whole walk out of the building. Once they had exited, Alex lead her into her car. 

"I don't trust you," said Alex as soon as she shut the door. 

"I know." 

"But Kara trusts you. And for now that'll have to do." 

"I honestly don't care how you feel about me, Agent Danvers," said Lena a bit more harshly than she intended, " I just care about getting Kara back." 

"Good." 

"I can get close to my mother. I just need you to bring in the calvary." 

"That I can do." 

"Well first I need to get in contact with Roland Daggett." 

Alex nodded. "There's something else you should know." 

"And what's that?" 

"Lillian...  _knows."_

* * *

Daggett's criminal history was the biggest open secret in the corporate world. Lena had no doubt that he worked with her mother. She had heard rumors that the DEO was trying to bring him down, but couldn't find anything that stuck. 

"My  _dear_ Lena. It's been far too long, beautiful," he said as he picked up the phone. 

"Cut the bullshit. I need to speak with my mother. Tell her- I know Supergirl's secret and that... she was right. I want to meet and speak to her." 

"Well I can't say I quite know where a known terrorist would be hiding. However..."

"Just tell her to meet me in two hours at the corner of 33rd and Avenue B," she said as she hung up the phone. 

Just as she expected, in approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes, as she waited on the corner,  she found herself being thrown into a trunk with by masked goons with bag pulled over head. 

It was better than she expected. It only took a bit of wiggling before she was able to remove her phone from her pocket and toss it towards the corner of the trunk. 

When the car finally stopped, Lena was pulled out of the trunk only to be face to face with her mother. 

"Well-well Lena. It seems you've finally grown to accept your role in this world." 

"No need to gloat, Mother." 

Lillian smiled. "Search her, we won't have a repeat of last time." 

To call what the two goons did to her a "pat down" would be much too mild. But after a few minutes, they seemed to be satisfied. 

"Really nothing, Lena? I almost feel disappointed," smiled Lillian, " but I have something to show you if you'll follow me." 

Lena followed her adopted mother into what looked like an abandoned building that looked nondescript on the outside, but was quite high-tech on the inside. 

"Must have been hard learning that your so-called "best friend" had been lying to you since the moment you met her," said Lillian almost mockingly. 

"I'm used to it... after all my mother was a cruel bitch growing up." 

Lillian merely smiled once more. She stopped in front of a door. 

"Well we're here. If you're ready that is." 

Lena nodded, dreading what she would see behind the door. But what she actually saw was far worse than anything she could have imagined. 

There was Supergirl- _Kara_ , chained to a wall. She was trembling. 

At the sight of her best friend in pain, Lena immediately rushed over to her to see if she was okay. 

" _Lena?_ I'm so so sorry- I never told you." 

"Shhhh, it'll all be okay." 

"Interesting, I thought you said you were on our side now," said Lillian. 

"Ma'am the DEO is moving. On this location," said the man who had kidnapped Kara-  _Hank Henshaw_ said as he ran into the room. 

Lena couldn't help but smirk. "Guess you forgot to check if there was a tracker in the car huh?" 

Lena expected many reactions from her adopted mother. What she absolutely did not expect was for Lillian to smirk right back at her. 

"I suppose I am disappointed you haven't seen the light yet. But, you did play your role perfectly so I thank you for that." 

Lena's smile disappeared. "What-what are you talking about?" 

"That's of no concern to you, daughter. I sadly must be off now." 

Henshaw sped over to her, holding her in place before she could move. 

Almost mockingly, Lillian took some kind of remote out of her pocket and pressed a button, causing Kara to scream in agony. She then tossed it to Henshaw who immediately crushed it. 

"Begin phase 2 once the DEO arrives," said a still smirking Lillian, "and Lena, I do hope our next encounter isn't quite so... _hostile._ _"_

Her mother's face was the last thing she saw before falling unconscious. 

* * *

Winn refused to show it, but he was desperate to find Kara. If he wasn't fast enough, if something happened to her....

Well, he couldn't even bare to finish that thought. 

"Anything?" asked J'onn who was nervously pacing the room. 

As if on cue, a red mark popped up on his screen. Almost as if someone had programmed a tracker on... 

"Uhhhhh, I think Alex and Lena may have..." 

J'onn paid his statement no mind. "Are they there?" 

Winn quickly pulled up the building schematics on his computer. "It's an old DEO base, so it's likely." 

"Call the strike team. Tell them to meet me there." 

"Um J'onn? I don't know if it's the best idea for you to..." 

"I've lost two daughters before. I won't lose another one." 

* * *

Lena regained consciousness only to be met with the sound of Kara's screaming and what sounded like gunfire outside. 

She looked at the crushed remote at her feet,  and based on the intense pain Kara was feeling as well as the delivery system, she was able to deduce it as a weapon Lex had tried to create. In this moment, she was immensely glad she had bothered to catalog his devices. 

" _Kara,_ there are nanites in your bloodstream. I don't know your powers, but can you get them out somehow?" 

Kara merely continued to scream in agony. 

"Kara, I need you to try and focus on me." 

"I can...just...lights," she said through gritted teeth. 

Lena immediately ran to the light controls and switched them off as fast as possible. As soon as she did, Kara shot off into the sky in the blink of an eye. 

* * *

Winn anxiously watched footage of the DEO and CADMUS battling. But there was one thing that he found particularly disturbing.

CADMUS wasn't putting up a fight. And he didn't know why. 

Suddenly, an explosion knocked him out of his seat and sent him flying against the wall. 

"We can access the archives on the terminal over here. At this time of night and with most of them fighting us, we should have around 60 seconds before their response to get what we need."

Winn desperately tried to get up but he found himself trapped under rubble from the explosion. 

"Got it," said Henshaw, "now let's get out before they send in reinforcements." 

And indeed, by the time, other agents had gotten there, it was far too late. 

* * *

Everything was too much. It was  _always_ too much. The sounds, the light, the strength, and now  _the pain._ Everything was a blur, as she found her clarity quickly fading away. 

There was one familiar sound that was not unpleasant though. A heartbeat.  _Alex._

And now that she listened, she heard too more familiar heartbeats, one alien, and one human. 

She focused on those sounds, letting them ground her as they had so many times before. She remembered what she had to do. 

Without losing any time, she shot off away from the city and towards the desert. Once she was clear of the city, she fired her heart vision as hard as she could. It didn't take long before she felt herself growing weaker and she fell to the ground. 

The last thing she saw was her sister's worried face running towards her. 

* * *

_Kara was okay._

Alex couldn't remember the last time she was so relieved. She had been reluctant to leave Kara's sunbed, but Lena was there now, waiting for her to regain consciousness. 

"As far as I can tell, they only took archive footage. I don't know why." 

"They sacrificed their own people and their base for it. It must be incredibly valuable." 

Winn shrugged.

"I'd like to get back to Kara, if that's alright." 

J'onn nodded at her. 

As Alex left the room, she stopped in the doorway. "I'm sorry for going behind your back, J'onn. I just..." 

"I know, Agent Danvers. Family comes first always." 

Alex smiled as she walked into the hallway. 

When she got to Kara's room, she heard her sister's voice. 

"Lena... I'm so, so sorry. It wasn't because you're a Luthor, I just..." 

"Shhhh, Kara. Let's not have this conversation now. Just rest." 

Kara seemed to do so as she turned over and closed her eyes. Lena caught her standing in the doorway and smiled politely. 

"How you holding up, Luthor?" 

"We walked directly into my mother's trap. It was so  _stupid,_ I should have figured it out from the beginning." 

"Kara's safe because of you. That's all that matters right now." 

Lena looked down, looking surprisingly insecure for a moment for a woman of her reputation. "I-I'm glad Kara has someone in her life that cares so deeply about her." 

Alex smiled. "I am too." 

* * *

The footage was quite exhilarating. A room of people fighting an alien invasion with the President. If Lillian had been any other person, she might have even found it moving. 

But she wasn't so the main interest to her was one particular moment. One easy to miss if one was not perceptive enough. 

That were just a few seconds when President Marsdin smiled and her face changed to something....decidedly  _not human._

The news media was going to love this. 

* * *

Alex had finally convinced Lena to head back to her apartment. Lena had thought it would be a good idea at first, but now she realized that she had no choice but to process the last 12 hours. 

Kara had lied to her. Since the day she met. Normal Kara Danvers was  _Supergirl,_ an alien from a dead planet. It was like she didn't know Kara at all. 

Then, she had almost died by her mother's hand. She had suffered so, so much because of that evil woman. 

Lena was never good with her emotions. In the past, she would merely talk to Lex. She had no idea how he always made her feel better. 

Now, he was in prison for unbelievably monstrous actions.  

Recently, she had taken to writing Lex. Letters he would never read, which Lena knew. But she couldn't help it. 

So sitting down at her desk, she sat down and started to write. 

_Dear Lex...._

* * *

_"A new bombshell report that President Marsdin is after all this time, an alien in disguise has provoked a constitutional crisis. Both party leaderships have called for Marsdin to resign immediately. Others are causing for impeachment. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this news dropping right before the veto vote massively increased support for said veto. Thus, the Alien Amnesty Act is no more."_

"Shit," said Alex as she watched her phone. 

"Alex," said Kara as she opened her eyes, "what's wrong?" 

"Nothing, just some stuff on the news. Nothing worry about." 

Her sister's eyes began to well up with tears. "I'm-I'm sorry that I've been avoiding you. I just... I don't know." 

"It's okay. You weren't ready," said Alex as she held her sister's hand. 

"I love you so much. And I thought I was going to die with you thinking that..." 

"It's not your fault." 

"Yes it is Alex!" yelled Kara, "I became Supergirl because I wanted to help people. But I failed." 

Alex ran her hand through Kara's hair. "You haven't failed anyone, Kara. You've saved a lot more people than you realized. The invasion, CADMUS, it would have all happened, just in a different way. And then we wouldn't have you there to protect us." 

"I'm sorry I'm such a burden." 

"You're absolutely not a burden. I'm your  _sister._ I will  _always_ be there for you." 

And for the first time in months, Kara felt safe in her sister's arms. 

* * *

Lillian was used to inspiring fear in her subordinates. She was not so much used to feeling that fear herself. 

Fear may have been too mild of a word if she was being honest though. 

 _"Is the weapon ready yet?"_ the demon asked her. 

"No-no," she gulped, "Wayne has been...reclusive." 

It turned it's red eyes as if it was staring into her very soul. 

 _"It isn't wise to test my patience,"_ it said before vanishing in an instant. 

Lillian, for the first time in years, dropped the floor trembling. 

* * *

"Why National City again?" 

"Because the asshole we've been tracking for months is there." 

"National City is kind of intense for you, babe." 

"Unbelievable. You have such little faith in me." 

Barbara Gordon rolled her eyes affectionately. "I'm just saying, Dick, you have a tendency to make some... pretty questionable decisions." 

"Hey I married you didn't I?" her husband smirked as he leaned down to peck her lips. 

Barbara hummed in contentment. "I suppose you do have a point." 

"So National City it is!" Dick Grayson exclaimed, "always wanted to meet Supergirl." 

* * *

Superman had dealt with some of the worst people to ever set foot on Earth. Gods, demons, beings from other dimensions, had all crossed paths with him. But there was one man, a human, who was far worse and much more dangerous than anything else Clark had seen. 

"He's in his cell. You'll escort him out. I'm not taking any chances," said Waller. 

Superman nodded. As the elevator moved towards the star prisoner of Striker's Island, Clark couldn't help but feel a familiar sense of dread in the pit of his stomach. 

The doors opened the the familiar face of the man who was both Clark's former best friend and his greatest enemy. 

Lex Luthor smiled. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> So let me know what you thought! I have the story planned out but I wanted to see if there was interest before continuing.


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